China's Week, Oct 5.
First ever 5G fighter EMALS launch & recovery; "The supply chain from rockets to satellites is now ready for 6G"; Sinopec has 146 Hydrogen refueling stations..
Science & Technology
First mid-air tool exchange between multiple rotor drones solves challenge of balancing close-range flight and high-precision manipulation.
The supply chain from rockets to satellites is now in place. One industrial park produces a satellite every 1.5 days–because 6G needs lots of satellites.
Tsinghua tops 2025 Computer Science Rankings for first time, beating CMU, Shanghai Jiao Tong, Zhejiang University, Peking U.
China flips nuclear sanctions: Western regulators ban Chinese nuke tech, hilarity ensues.
The world’s longest cable-stayed bridge used satellite-guided cranes and unique, 21st century engineering. A deep dive.
Novel catalytic system directly turns methane to methanol with a palladium (Pd) nanocatalyst to achieve 99.7% conversion rate at 70°C.
A rechargeable, room-temperature battery uses hydrogen ions to store and release energy. Safer than lithium, stores 6X more.
Data backbone’s 4.5 million 5G base stations serve a billion people in 110 “gigabit cities” with 80% 5G access.
Chinese EV Giants Go Local: XPeng and BYD Conquer Europe from Within
Economy & Trade
Hong Kong remains the #3 global financial hub, narrows gap to NYC, London.
UAE Pays China With Digital Dirham, Ditches US Dollar.
US-TikTok deal: US investors are operators, not owners. 19.9% to ByteDance gets 20% of profits.
Cross-border RMB trade settlement up 40%. 32 central banks hold 4.5 trillion yuan. Australian miner issued RMB panda bonds.
Digital RMB International Operations Center opens 3 platforms in Shanghai: cross-
border digital payments, digital RMB blockchain, and digital assets.
“The US dollar is destabilizing the global financial system. Trust in China’s sovereign money creates favorable conditions for renminibi internationalization.”
China has 17.35 million electric vehicle (EV) charging connectors installed nationwide.
Society & Environment
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Visa-free entries by foreign nationals up 52% YoY to 16 million, processed 51 million foreigner entries and exits.
Fact-Checking “Beijing Is Failing to Solve Its Involution Problem”. A Reality Check on China’s Green Technology Sector
Sinopec has 11 supply depots for H2 fuel cells, plus 146 H2 refueling stations and several pilot long-distance H2 energy transportation corridors.
Did Homo sapiens first emerge outside Africa? Million-year-old Chinese skull may belong to Homo longi, ‘dragon man’.
Unsubsidized renewables’ capital costs means that a ¥15.5B project cost generates 6.09 TWh. @ ¥0.58 per kWh = ¥3.5B revenue = 5 year revenue payback.
By 2035: cut gas emissions 7% - 10%, rise non-fossil fuel consumption 30%, expand wind and solar 6x 2020 levels to total to 3,600 GW and increase forest stock 20%.
Dead wind turbine blades give durable defense against desert spread. 14 times stronger than wood composites and resist UV, heat, and sand abrasion.
Public-sector retirees’ pensions are 28 times higher than rural residents’, a gulf that has left enduring fault lines across China’s elderly population.
Yellow River Delta: “Reed marshes increase year by year, bird species from 187 to 380, sandy areas are 60% vegetation vs 30%, Loess Plateau changed from yellow to green”.
Taiwan is the Poorest Developed Country. Wages are half Korea’s.
How China Builds New Energy Systems in Rural Areas.
$7.5 billion, 2,700 km, 800 kV DC UHV line from Xizang to the Greater Bay Area.
Corruption in China and how it's dealt with.
Diplomacy, Geopolitics & Propaganda
Poland reopens border to rail Silk Road bringing cargo from China to the EU via Mongolia,Kazakhstan,Russia and Belarus.
China’s 200 marine development projects help small island states with sustainable development and ocean resource management.
‘China could disable or detonate Australian EVs’. Aussie officials should not ride in Chinese EVs.
China struggled to secure a visit for its research ship at Hambantota in Sri Lanka–where China holds a 70% stake in a 99-year lease–but an HK firm damages US security in Panama?
King’s College Professor Kerry Brown called China’s military parade “performative”.
Chinese AI could soon make it nearly impossible for submarines to survive a naval conflict.
Beijing’s Legal Assessment of America’s “Freedom of Navigation”.
Defense
PLAN tests two 40m long uncrewed submarines, the size of a crewed attack submarine, 20 times bigger larger than US, EU uncrewed subs.
The hybrid drivetrain in China’s new ZTZ-100 tank platform can drive power-hungry electromagnetic armor (EFA) and electrothermal chemical guns (ETCG).
Fujian’s EMALS launches, recoverers 5th. generation J-35 fighters, a world first.
The radar cross section (RCS) of a J-35 series fighter is smaller than a human palm, thanks to its special fuselage design and metamaterials.
China transmits data without detectable electromagnetic signals, potentially transforming the landscape of electronic warfare.
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